Thank you,.. been an experience debating with you,...

Likewise. Thanks for teaching me when I was starting out. Couldn't have got here without your help. Now I am deciding whether to take the plunge and move or stay in Malaysia.

Reason for taking the plunge
1. Better future for my kids
2. No Puas nonsense. Yes I am concerned about their growing influence.
3. More equal and better opportunity for them
5. Better work life balance for myself.

Reasons for not taking the plunge
1. Expensive taxes over there which will screw my plans.

This post has been edited by Ramjade: Jun 13 2023, 11:35 AM

i am a huge advocate for hard work, but we have to admit

luck is a huge part whether a person is b40 or t20, i agree.

you choose the right career, born in the right family, mix with the right people, all stars aligned.

some struggle their whole life and never lucky.

i consider myself blessed. born a b40, never able to study overseas but now working overseas.

You're welcome,...

There is no universal answer to your wonderings in the above. The answer depends on your current circumstances. It's just like someone asking me,... is MPACT a good stock to buy now ? There are many ways to answer this,... egs :-
1) If you don't have MPACT now and can take some risks, yes, buy.
2) If you have a lot of MPACT now, then you need to diversify, so, don't buy.
3) If you are a good TA man, then look at your charts,...

Etc, etc,..

If your situation is the same as mine, then my opinions would probably answer your questions. But we do not know each other in-person, hence, it's hard to decide if it is suitable for you to do what I do today.

For myself,.. Msia is not that bad. There are some problems with the system, no doubt abt that,... but haven't yuo thought of the fact that we can exploit these weaknesses to our advantage ?

I'll give another eg : Ringgit is weak, and continues to be so. Bursa, some said, is not good,... so, we invest overseas. The govt id not stopping us, and hs no capability to stop us. Has no capability to tax out earnings internationally. Our Ringgit is weak because our people and govt are incompetent, but this incompetence also allows us to move freely in the outside world without being taxed.

I preferred to think on the 'good' side of things.

Anyway,... no ctry is perfect,... every ctry has its own set of prbs. We just need to adapt to our surroundings.

Im some what in the same scenario as TS
Already almost mid 30s, plan to settle down, no kids.
Checked with migration consultant and they mentioned i wont have any issue getting a PR. Rural uni australian engineering degree, 5+ years professional experience etc
But im abit reluctant to make the move due to job security and pay.
Im in a good spot with the job in Malaysia though its becoming monotonous.
The pay isnt great in australia after deducting tax and Super.
The only motivation is for the future kids. Like TS mentioned, private schools are expensive in Malaysia, and in no way i would have my future kids in local schools.
Adding to the predicament, i still have mortgages and other loans too.
From my living cost calculations considering existing loans, if i was to move to Perth, I’d need atleast A$12k. And apparently this is on the higher percentile income range.
Hence the reason im still indecisive with the move.
Im in engineering too.. O&G

probability higher for a t20 vs b20

i don't know your story but if you are t20, parents send you to international school with IGSCE or Australia AIMST, obviously would catch the eye of prospective interviewers overseas.

If you send your resume, they see SPM, they thinking they rather have someone that can assimilate into their culture.

Yep, that’s one of the factors that help us lean towards Australia. Professionals with O&G background also has the option to join the mining, utilities and renewables industry, which helps with career stability and progression. The grass is always greener where you can cari makan haha.

Yes, there are migrants who didn’t make it here, but generally from what I’ve observed, most Malaysians are resilient enough and carry the right attitude to make it through.

Yep, work life balance is incredibly important for me. Not saying Singapore isn’t great - it really depends on what you want in life. Singapore is a tax haven for the rich and high income families, and their culture is very close to ours which does help settling in much easier. Not to mention it’s close proximity to Malaysia as well. However, my priorities lie elsewhere where Australia fares much better.

Fair enough, I can see the point about potentially struggling academically when entering high school. I guess it’s something we as parents will need to pay a little more attention to leading up to Year 7.

Did you use any tutors at all for your kids?

That’s the golden question everyone has when applying for a visa. I would say do both. Set a target date for your move. Prior to that date, start scouring the job market and apply for jobs. It’s rare to secure a job from overseas, but some people have been successful in doing so. You’ll stand a much better chance once you’re in the country.

91 ATAR is very good! Well done. He can pretty much walk into any uni in Australia for any engineering courses with that result. You don’t need to score 99 unless you’re trying to aim for medicine in a top uni.

Glad your daughter is doing well too. I’ll be encouraging my kids to pursue their passion and hopefully they’ll end up doing something they have a keen interest in.

I’d say it’s a good decision so far. Still a long way to go though.

Yes, luck does help a lot. My first turning point was being able to secure a scholarship and my second getting a very good job right out of Uni despite being from a lower middle class family. Sometimes it’s about being at the right place at the right time.

With a huge shortage of people in the resources industry, and since you don’t have kids yet, now’s probably the best time as any to move. With 5+ years experience, you won’t have any issues getting jobs with $130k - $150k base salary and if you’re opened to FIFO roles in the mining industry, you can easily hit $200k with site allowances and bonuses all up.

TS stuck in South Australia ka?

no wonder nothing to do after 5pm....

Out of curiosity, other than hanging out at mamak stalls, what do you do after 5pm that you can’t do in Australia?

This post has been edited by Salary: Jun 13 2023, 03:38 PM

You hang out at Cafes in the bigger cities.
Small towns go to RSLs, pubs and bars for a drink or two, beers are cheap.

not all are resilient. I know many have returned.

there are also some others, who continue living by the fringe, means they made enough to pay for rent and food.

The trouble with Australia is that its not a diversified or industrialised economy. It relies too much on mining sector, banking/service, retail and real estate.

So when it comes to professional jobs, it may be limited.

matters are made worse, when many rich migrants come to flood the real estate hiking up housing prices, making them very unaffordable.

I know several T5s here, that does migration investment, bought bungalows in Australia, so that they can have one foot here and one foot there.

Also many PRC rich people who come to launder their money into Australia's real estate.

TS said Oil and Gas, maybe somewhere in Queensland or Northern Territory.

You didn’t really answer my question though, but sounds like what most Malaysians would do in Malaysia after 5pm anyway, so yeah, quite a few things to do after 5pm haha.